Top Gun – Featuring the F-14 Tomcat

Anyone that was alive in 1986 will likely have at least some knowledge of the legendary airplane movie ‘Top Gun‘. That airplane film is a good mixture of romance, drama and action, and it was a world-wide sensation during the year of its release. Top Gun likely inspired many aspiring military pilots to take to the skies and try their hand at aviation. Even today the film enjoys legendary status amongst those who enjoyed it during their youth.

Top Gun, was directed by Tony Scott and featured a noteworthy cast of up-and-coming actors such as Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer The film was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson for the movie company Paramount Pictures. At the time, no one could have guessed that the script of Top Gun – written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. – would become such a massive hit. Half of the actors involved in the project initially rejected the offer to work on it. However, the combination of attractive young naval aviators, fiery tempers and F-14 fighter jets proved to be a winning combination that was not soon forgotten by fans around the world.

This award winning American film follows the exploits of LT Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, a naval aviator, played by Tom Cruise. By a stroke of luck, Maverick is able to gain access to a prestigious school that furthers the training of the top 1% of naval aviators in the country. But Maverick is a ‘wild card’, impulsive and driven by emotion. He enjoys breaking the rules and gets a reputation for it.

Things go horribly wrong for Maverick when his RIO (Radar Intercept Officer) ‘Goose’ gets killed during an ejection. The accident causes Maverick to loose his nerve and re-consider his goals in life. In the end he decides to stick it out and graduate from the Top Gun school.

The movie is packed with praiseworthy aerial scenes featuring F-14 Tomcats engaging in dogfights with MiG-28 military aircraft. The action is beautifully tied into a well-developed story complete with a delicate romance between Maverick and his female civilian instructor Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Blackwood (Kelly McGillis). Top Gun is definitely one of those old favorites that are worth watching again!